Feeling good is about more than just your physical health. In fact, there are several factors that may affect your overall mood. Here are 10 tips to keep you feeling your best:

Go outside. Spending time outdoors can make you feel better — even if it’s only for a few minutes. Try to get regular exposure to natural light, as much as you are able to. Go outside even when it’s cloudy; a small amount of natural light is better than none at all.

Take vitamin supplements. If your body is running short on nutrients such as magnesium or zinc, your brain might be running short on chemicals that regulate mood and keep you in good spirits.

Watch your diet. Refined carbohydrates such as table sugar and fruit juice concentrates do nothing for your mental health. However, protein-rich foods such as chicken, salmon and beans can give your brain a boost. Vegetables, fruits and whole grains are also part of a balanced, healthy diet.

Exercise. Staying active can release feel-good chemicals, boost your self-esteem and give you another reason to go outdoors or stay connected with other people. Even low-impact activities like golf or tai chi are great ways to keep your body moving.

Hit the hay. Let your body and mind recharge with a good night’s rest. Establish a regular sleep routine and try to stick to it every night.

Try something new. Play a new game. Join a new club. Try new foods. Learn a new skill. Having something new to look forward to and a hobby get excited about can be invigorating.

Volunteer. Helping others can help you find a new sense of purpose and value in your talents and presence.

Set limits. An overextended schedule saps your energy. Take regular breaks, including vacations (or staycations). If you’re feeling drained, look for things to cut out from your weekly to-dos.

Laugh. Laughter is good for your immune system and your mood!

Take time to reflect. Prayer and/or meditation can offer you perspective and provide opportunities for reflection, gratitude and peace.

For too many seniors in our country, abuse or neglect is an all-too-real part of life. Knowing the signs of elder abuse, as well as where to get help, can change that. It is important to know the definition of elder abuse. Elder abuse can be:

Physical: such as hitting or restraining a person

Sexual: including any non-consensual contact

Emotional: such as humiliating, intimidating, threatening or repeatedly ignoring a person

Neglect or abandonment: including preventing a person from receiving basic needs

Exploitation: theft of a person’s money, property or assets

Know the WARNING SIGNS OF ABUSE:

Unexplained injuries, such as scratches, bruises or welts

Withdrawal from usual activities and relationships

Sudden changes in habits such as spending, hygiene or appearance

Changes in mood(or mood swings) such as depression, confusion, insomnia, anger or crying

Any mention of mistreatment

Keep in mind that these signs may not be caused by elder abuse, but do follow up to root out the causes.

If you suspect abuse, always dial 911 for immediate help. If someone isn’t in immediate danger but you suspect abuse, talk to the dispatcher about the situation and what you can do.

Remember, some seniors may feel ashamed or afraid to report abuse. You might have to step in to seek help.

Where to find more help:

National Domestic Violence Hotline. This hotline is available 24/7 to offer resources and support. Call 1-800-799-7233.

Have you found your weekly call to catch up with Mom has turned into a bi-weekly call to help sort medical bills or remind her to pick up laundry? You’ve become a long-distance caregiver, but you’re not alone in your new role. According to the National Institute on Aging, it’s possible that 7 million people in the U.S. are working as informal caregivers for loved ones.

If the idea of being a caregiver from a distance sounds strange to you, it shouldn’t. If you’re offering assistance to your loved one in any way, you’re a caregiver. It might be small things, like setting up automatic bill pay for your loved one, or larger things, like arranging transportation to doctor’s appointments. When you call Aunt Susie every Sunday night, you might think she sounds fine. But listen to her tone of voice when she says she’s “just fine.” Does she really sound fine — or like she doesn’t want to be a bother? Does Grandpa Milton ask what’s cooking every time you talk? He might not be getting enough to eat, or enough of the right kinds of foods.

Your loved one may truly be OK, but subtle clues could hint that they may need some extra help:

Provide emotional support. If your loved one seems upset about something, ask them more about it. Let them tell you how they feel. Pray with them and try to end the conversation on a positive note.

Arrange for in-home care. Investigate the benefits of hiring professional caregivers or home health aides.

Organize financial and medical paperwork. Be prepared. Develop a plan and have advance directives available in case of an emergency.

Stay connected. Find as many ways as possible to stay in touch with your loved ones. Start with regularly scheduled phone calls. Send them a card, just to let them know you’re thinking of them. Look into setting up video chats. Frequent communication will limit the distance between you and your loved ones. Another way to find out what’s going on in a loved one’s life is to reach out to the people nearby. If your dad has a weekly card game, ask his buddies how he is looking and acting. They may pick up on something you couldn’t over the phone.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is associated with typical memory changes caused by aging, causing a slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities, including memory and thinking skills. Your tendency to be forgetful doesn’t necessarily mean you have Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Instead, you may have MCI.

While MCI does increase your risk of developing Alzheimer’s and/or other dementias, some people with MCI never experience further cognitive decline. Further, MCI usually does not interfere with daily function in the way Alzheimer’s disease does. However, people with this condition often recognize that their mental function has declined.
There are two types of MCI: amnesic and non-amnesic. Amnesic MCI is more common than non-amnesic MCI. Symptoms may include forgetting about important appointments, or missing events that you had planned to attend.
On the other hand, non-amnesic MCI is characterized by impaired thinking and struggling with self-awareness, organization, or judgement. Symptoms may include difficulty with making plans, or problem-solving.Key facts about mild cognitive impairment

It can be difficult to diagnose.

There is no standardized/conclusive way to know if a person has MCI.

The underlying cause of MCI is yet to be determined.

It is unclear why some people with MCI develop Alzheimer’s disease and others do not.

Grieving the loss of a loved one is one of the hardest journeys in life to travel. Sometimes grief can be surprising, and at other times can be overwhelming. While there’s no instruction book that tells you how to grieve, there are common stages of grief that may help you understand how you’re feeling or processing your loss.

The 5 Common Stages of Grief

1. Denial: You may have difficulty believing the loss actually happened, finding yourself in a state of shock or disbelief. “I can’t believe this is happening.”2. Anger: You may direct anger at the death, your loved ones, the person who died, yourself, the world, or God. “I’m so angry, and I’m not sure why or who I’m angry at.”3. Bargaining: You may find yourself second-guessing or imagining what you could have done to reverse fate or go back in time to change the outcome. “If only I had done this differently.”4. Depression: You may feel numb, helpless, empty, sad or exhausted, and not care about much of anything around you. “I just don’t know how I will go on.”5. Acceptance: You accept the reality of the loss and begin to regain strength and energy. You start adjusting to life without your loved one. “I have found peace. It’s OK to be happy.”

You may move through all five stages in this order, or you may skip a stage, or you may come back to the same one several times. You might start the grieving process before your loved one dies, or grief may catch you by surprise when you are alone later. Remember: grief is unique to each person, and there is no right or wrong way to grieve.

What can I do to get through the grieving process?

Take care of yourself. Grieving, or being emotionally exhausted can take a serious toll on your health. Try to get plenty of sleep at night, take a nap, eat healthy meals even if you don’t have an appetite, and drink plenty of water as dehydration can cause headaches, joint and muscle pain, and fatigue.

Talk about your feelings. Release what you feel like inside, even if it seems embarrassing or self-indulgent to tell someone else. Or, find a private outlet to express your feelings such as keeping a journal, starting a project, or reflecting on the good times you spent with your loved one.

Keep going. It’s OK to want to have time to be by yourself as long as you remember that you also need to get out of the house. Getting out may be as simple as taking a walk around the mall, or having a cup of coffee in the park. Being around other people can remind you of how much life is around you.

Find small moments to be grateful for. Even in the depths of your grief, there will be small moments that can fill you with gratitude such as the warmth of a fresh cup of tea, the comfort of a friend who calls to say hello, the coziness of a favorite chair and blanket. Take a second to acknowledge these small comforts, and give thanks for their presence in your life today. With time, you’ll find more and more moments to be grateful for, to laugh, and to enjoy yourself again.

The grieving process is different for every person, and with every loss. Don’t push yourself to “just muscle through” the stages. Instead, remind yourself of all of the steps on the road to peace, and make the emotionally healthy choices you need to take you as peacefully as possible through the journey.

Home is a place you can feel safe, relaxed and comfortable. However, your home can also have some major hazards that lead to falls. The reality is that a senior is treated every 11 seconds in an emergency room for injuries associated with falling in their home.

While falls can happen to even healthy, active people, fall-related injuries are a leading cause of early death. The risks especially significantly affect seniors. In fact, one in three people over the age of 65 falls, often resulting in life-changing injuries.

As you age, your reflexes and neuro-systems slow down and you start to lose your ability to quickly recover from a loss of balance. Further, if you are sedentary, your loss of muscle strength greatly increases your risk of falls. Thankfully, there are simple changes you can make to prevent falling in your home:1. Tape down the edges of mats and rugs; consider removing area rugs to avoid tripping over them.

2. Cover loose cords.

3. Remove piles and stacked papers from floors and hallways.

4. Make sure you have good lighting near your bed, in hallways and at the top and bottom of stairways.

5. Add handrails to stairways and grab bars in bathrooms.

6. Put a bell on your cat or dog’s collar so you can easily hear where they are without getting up to look.

7. Wear shoes that are closed-toe, and have soles with rubber or other gripping material.

8. Move items on shelves and in cabinets so that they’re within easy reach

9. Use a shower chair and handheld shower head while bathing. Sit down to get dressed.

10. Install seat risers on toilets and chairs if they’re too low to easily stand up from a seated position.

11. Look at your medications. Some medicines have side effects like dizziness that may make you lose your balance. Ask your doctor if there are alternatives with fewer side effects or lower doses if you think they’re affecting your balance.

12. Keep your eyes in check. Make sure your glasses and contact lens prescriptions are up to date so you’re seeing as clearly as possible. Try not to use progressive lenses indoors, which can make it harder for you to notice contrast and depth.

13. Stay active. Go for walks, try yoga, or find senior exercise classes in your community. Staying active can help you maintain, and even improve, muscle strength and balance.

14. Keep in touch. Call your neighbors or children at a certain time each day, and ask them to check on you if they don’t hear from you

Physical fitness doesn’t have to mean hours of sweaty workouts. You may not have the time or resources to go to the gym, attend a class or buy equipment to exercise at home. However, it is still possible to improve your physical health. Here are six simple ways to incorporate physical fitness into your daily life.

1. Multitask throughout the day

Balance on one leg while you brush your teeth. Alternate between legs, standing on one in the morning, and the other in the evening

Every year thousands of seniors are treated in medical centers and emergency rooms for injuries due to common household items. Many of these injuries result from safety hazards that are easy to overlook, but are also easy to fix. At Aftenro, we want to support seniors’ wishes to live in their own home for as long as possible. Here are some of our tips to help you stay safe in your home:

Medications

Take your medications exactly as your doctor tells you to and as the bottle instructs. Do not make any changes to your prescribed medications without calling your doctor first.

Keep a list of your medications with the drug name, dose and how often you need to take them. Remember to update the list each time there is a medication change. Put a copy of the list in your wallet in case you need emergency medical care.

Make sure any doctor you are seeing is aware of all the medications you are taking, including prescriptions, vitamins, herbal supplements and over-the-counter medications.

Make all your purchases from one pharmacy whenever possible. They can help you track your medications and let you know of any possible side effects.

Use a pill planner to set up your medications if you are getting dosage times and days confused. Ask your pharmacy how to use this planner if you have questions. Seek medical assistance if you cannot manage your medications.

Don’t take medications prescribed for someone else. This could have dangerous consequences for your health.

Bedroom safety

Keep a flashlight and a telephone on a bedside table.

Use only UL-approved electric blankets. To prevent overheating, do not tuck in or put anything on top of an electric blanket.

Sit on the edge of the bed before standing to avoid becoming dizzy.

Keep a cane or walker by the bed.

Adjust the height of your bed so that it’s easy to get into and out of.

Use nightlights to illuminate doorways and pathways to the bathroom and kitchen.

Over the past 20 years there has been a reported 300% increase in the number of Americans who report that they few or no close confidants. This is not only upsetting, but now an analysis of a total of 23 scientific studies reveal just how physically sick loneliness can actually make you.

According to a 2016 study published in the British medical journal, Heart, those who suffer from “poor social relationships” experienced a 29% greater risk of heart disease, and 32% greater risk of stroke.

These statistics equalize loneliness and social isolation with other well-known risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as anxiety and job strain. These statistics also surpass the cardiovascular risks of physical inactivity and obesity. Lead researcher Nicole Valtora of the Department of Health Sciences, University of York, England reports that “interventions to prevent coronary heart disease and stroke should take loneliness and social isolation into consideration.” She went on to say that such interventions could be relatively inexpensive to implement, especially when considering that the cost of ignoring cardiovascular disease factors totaled $193 billion in 2015.

However, it is important to note that loneliness and social isolation are not always linked. It is possible to feel lonely in a crowd, or to be alone and feel content. It is when your experience is negative, you are not happy with your social interactions, or if you’re grieving a loss will be when your well-being is at risk.

Valtora’s studies involved 181,000 people living in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, the data excluding those who identified as lonely, but had already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. Participants were tracked for between 3-21 years, and it was found that among these people there were 4,628 heart attacks or related events and 3,002 strokes. Further, the data showed that age was not necessarily a factor, and there was no significant difference between men and women.

A separate study performed in 2015 by Brigham Young University researchers concluded that both actual and perceived isolation were associated with early death. Social isolation corresponded with a 29 percent greater risk of premature death, loneliness corresponded with a 26 percent greater risk, and living alone corresponded with a 32 percent greater risk. This same data also determined that social isolation and loneliness threatened longevity as much as obesity did. Interestingly, in 2010 this same team of Brigham Young researchers were also involved in a study that concluded that loneliness is as bad for your heart as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

According to Brigham Young researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad what can be done to mitigate the cardiovascular risk of loneliness and social isolation is to nurture close relationships and seek to develop a “diverse set of social connections”. A key advantage in elderly populations often occurs within the setting of a long-term care facility where residents may have previously been isolated due to physical or cognitive impairments, but now enjoy a richer social and activity structure with their peers.

Discussing long term care options with your family member may be uncomfortable as these conversations can include topics such as finances or medical information that may have been considered taboo in your historical family exchanges. However, it is important to begin these discussions as a safeguard against the threat of needing this information after it has become too late. Below are four tips to make engaging in these types of conversations easier for both you and your loved one:

1. Stay focused on their concerns. Let your family member talk about their hopes or fears before adding your own concerns or thoughts. Be certain to communicate in a method that builds trust into future conversations.

2. Transition to the topic by using a different past situation as an example. “Dad, remember when grandma was diagnosed with dementia? Grandpa had to quit his job to take care of her at home. We can avoid this kind of situation by proactively planning ahead for the unknown”.

3. Ask them what type of long-term care they would like to receive if it becomes needed. Where would be their first choice to live? How much care would they receive? How would they pay for it?

4. Write down any decisions there were made once your loved one has had the opportunity to voice their wishes,as well as any that still need to be made. This list will help to ensure that nothing is left out of the plan, and that your loved one’s desires are carried out. Also, this list can then be available to all participants in their care including other family members, care facilities, or social services.

These four tips will help ease the process of engaging in conversations regarding your loved one’s long-term care options. Remember, even if these discussions may feel uncomfortable, talking about these topics will ensure that your family member’s wishes are carried out accurately and with dignity.